The Center for Evolution and Cancer is the first such entity in the world
focusing on the fundamental evolutionary dynamics that drive
carcinogenesis, therapeutic resistance, and cancer susceptibility. The
CEC brings together researchers from across the world to accelerate
progress in cancer research, with the goal of employing evolutionarily
informed approaches to advance cancer research, cancer prevention, and
patient management.
To see CEC's Faculty List click here
Research in the center focuses on three primary areas:
- Cancer progression is an evolutionary process
Evolution is fundamental to the generation of cancer and our difficulty
in curing cancer. A neoplasm is a microcosm of evolution with a mosaic
of mutant clones competing for resources. Progression to malignancy
occurs through a dynamic of natural selection within the neoplasm, as
cells acquire the hallmarks of cancer and out-compete their surrounding
cells.
- Therapeutic resistance evolves in response to treatment
When we treat cancer, we may kill the majority of cells in the
neoplasm, but this often selects for mutant clones that are resistant
to the therapy, regardless of what drug we choose. Understanding
the evolutionary dynamics underlying therapeutic resistance allows us
to target the processes leading relapse, with wide ranging impact for
amplifying the effectiveness of current therapies and developing novel
therapeutic approaches that are may be less susceptible to therapeutic
resistance.
- Organisms have evolved to suppress cancer
Cancer suppression and susceptibility can also be understood from the
perspective of organismal evolution and trade-offs among selective
pressures. For example, life history factors such as body size,
lifespan, and reproductive strategies have led to cancer susceptibility
as well as the evolution of mechanisms to suppress cancer. These
mechanisms can be discovered through comparative biology (e.g., how
elephants and whales are able to suppress cancer better than humans)
and the study of trade-offs in human evolution.